10 Things Japanese People Hate About JRPGs

A recent Japanese message board thread about JRPGs (Japanese role-playing games) noted that while some would call them the "classic style" of RPG, overseas there are many cases where the term "JRPG" is used with a negative nuance. To join in on this negativity, posters decided to discuss what they themselves hate most about their domestically-made RPGs.

[Snookies12]

Story and characters are all that matters in an RPG. I don't care if the main character is a red stickman. Give him some realistic problems to deal with, and an emotional journey. I'll be satisfied lol.

[Instigator]

That's definitely two big factors in making a great RPG, but so is a big, explorable worlds instead of pretty corridors. To go anywhere, discover secrets and encountering monsters that can rip you to shreds is my favorite aspect of RPGs.

[bangoskank]

Breath of Fire V:Dragon Quarter traded open worlds for corridors as well but it worked because it had interesting characters, good gameplay, and a really cool, dark story. FFXIII is just a bunch of nonsense that oozes J-pop culture that I don't want in my Final Fantasy. it just doesn't belong.

[Instigator]

@Bangoskank
An RPG can be good even with restricted exploration, but it's not what I look for in the genre. I'm not opposed to playing one if it nails those other key elements, though.

[miyamoto]

This is why I have stuck with

Final Fantasy VI
Chrono Trigger
Phantasy Star IV
Breath of Fire
Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past
Panzer Dragoon Saga

as some of the greatest RPGs of all time.

Final Fantasy VII was okay but the moment I saw Final Fantasy VIII I knew it was Style over Substance from then on.

[Lovable]

No not really...Gameplay makes a big difference.

[wolokowoh]

I agree but I'd go further with it. Gameplay and the systems affecting it such as how you level or don't(such as the Witcher's system, Elder Scrolls's system, Demons Souls/Dark Souls type, the sphere grid from FF10, or one more like Amalur's), what you can customize and how much you can customize, story because it does affect how you play(what path you take, your motivations, etc.), the enemy design, what you interact with/affect, what you're doing, difficulty spikes/consistency, and of course how fun the gameplay in general is are all great examples what it takes to make or break a game.
The reasons Amalur, Skyrim/Oblivion/Morrowind, The Witcher, The Witcher 2, Dark Souls, Tales of Graces f, and Final Fantasy games(which are different with each title, excluding 13-2) are all fun are completely different reasons from one another but what they do have in common is that all of them have much more content outside of the main storyline that rely heavily on their gameplay and the systems I mentioned plus more to keep the player interested and because they are different they may succeed or fail to do so based on the person's preferences. To me, all of them are great but many others do not always have the same interests as I do.

[jthamind]

did you just say "realistic" when talking about a JRPG?

have you ever in your life played one? lol. they're the antithesis of realism in every way, shape and form.

[klecser]

So, if the story and characters are great, and the gameplay is horrible, you're still onboard? You either have issues elucidating what you like, or you have really low standards for a story and characters. Read some more books and then pretend that any JRPG has a good "story". Few who play JRPGs, and have any experience with literature, thinks that story is the "most" important. Gameplay, first and foremost.

People play JRPGs because they like to manage numbers.

[Hicken]

As a writer and avid reader, my FAVORITE part of JRPGS is the story.

As varied as gameplay can be from one franchise to the next(and in the FF series, from one entry to the next), the qualifications for gameplay are pretty flexible. And average or even slightly subpar gameplay is forgivable.

ONLY if the story is good enough. If the story is poor and the characters don't appeal to me, the gameplay means nothing.

[Laxman]

I think of it like this;

If a game has great gameplay, but an awful story, I think its hard to enjoy at all (RAGE is a perfect example).

But if a game has a great story, you can still get right into it and enjoy it even if the gameplay is lacking.

[klecser]

Not for many of us. But, many of us don't go in with very high expectations for the narrative parts of these things, so we're rarely disappointed.

[Ranma1]

I hate Final Fantasy 13

because it contains almost everything i hate about bad jrpgs.

I love jrpgs like FF1 to FF10

[Kratoscar2008]

i like FF from 1 to XII, XIII and its sequel are horrendous.

Tales games are the worst cliched rpgs so far.

[kreate]

Wada said ff14 'greatly damaged' the ff name but i think ff13 is what killed it with ff14 performing the finishing move.

[kevnb]

Gameplay matters in an RPG for sure, that's what most of them lack on these days.

[Christopher]

The problem with RPGs is that they're never just about one thing. They survive on a few factors.

1. Characters
2. Story
3. Gameplay
4. Exploration
5. Leveling
6. Abilities
7. Freedom of Choice
8. Itemization (gear and inventory items)
9. Choice in customization (items and looks)

JRPGs aren't hated, it's just that their methodology is not a preferred one by many who tend to like WRPGs. For me, JRPGs tend to have characterizations I can't really hang with, especially in regards to style and general attitude and focus less on giving you that power and more on telling you how it is and how it will be. JRPGs also don't tend to vary the storyline based on your choices, since your choices are decided for you. And if you don't fulfil certain side quests, that doesn't affect the overall storyline, it just dictates what you can and can't do in combat, typically. The storylines tend to be linear without any choice.

There are good JRPGs, but if I had a choice between two good RPGs, one Japanese in design and another Western in design, I would choose the Western RPG 9/10 times because I know it would let me do what I like to do. As denoted by the "9/10 times," though, this isn't always true. Just most of the time.

[slayorofgods]

Well wrpg's and jrpg's are almost different genre's really.

As for wrpg's the open world and full exploration is really nice. For example, riding around in Skyrim and just exploring is really fun at first. But, when it comes down to playing a game through it's entirety eventually the wrpg such as skyim will tire it's self out more then a jrpg, mostly because jrpg's tend to open up a little more or the new addition's tend to be more rewarding. i.e. Final Fantasy's summon's or new magic. And, the story telling shifts from being a burden to something to look forward to towards the end of the game when you are looking for something different to happen. (of course games like ME do mix in story telling but I use Skyrim as a example of a more traditional wrpg).

I am a huge fan of Skyrim, mostly because of the exploration. But, I hate the combat elements and leveling system. And I actually really like the combat and leveling system in jrpg's. Personal opinion of course.

I guess what I'm trying to say is. WRPG's have a better initial fun factor, but then tend to get tiring faster and jrpg's have a better fun factor when it comes to playing a game through to it's the end.

Of course it's hard to compare these two now as good jrpg's have been too few too thin this generation and a lot of people might use FF13 as the one example of a jrpg. As opposed to the preferred ones of the PS2 era. FF10 is a better comparison.

[OccludedGamer]

Xenoblade Chronicles is a great example from this gen, and personally I would rate it higher than any WRPG too.

Much like you found, Skyrim tires me easily. Plus I have always thought that the characters are so boring in skyrim that I find it impossible to not skip the dialogue.

In fact only one character I have ever listened to and ever will in the elder scrolls is sheogorath

[andibandit]

To be honest these are the things I(you may have a diffrent oppinion) denote to JRPG's when used negatively:

1. GIANT SWORDS
2. Extreme Hair Styles, or extreme amounts of hair, with Happy(gay) colors.
3. Large dreamy eyes, small noses and mouths.
4. if not 2 or 3, protagonists/antagonists, look like photomodels(face, body, clothing)
5. Protagonist(s) is often young, sometimes children.
6. Awkward japanese storytelling, dialogue and humor.
7. Turnbased.

[Godmars290]

So something that has to go: Excess characters in traveling parties.

As well as calling them 'J' RPGs apparently.

[dark-hollow]

"Excess characters in traveling parties"

thats one of the things that i love about Jrpgs over Wrpgs.

nobody has been bothered with the huge amount of party characters in mass effect.

[Godmars290]

That's because they stay on the ship. They aren't walking around just twiddling their thumbs as the party leads get into a fight.

They do however pile into a shuttle and head off while the ship is in the middle of nowhere when it needs combat personnel.

[dark-hollow]

well in some jrpgs, your whole party members dont show up unless in a fight or a cut scene, showing only your main character when exploring outside of the battle.

and am sure at least two members follows shepard in most parts of the games.

[DragonKnight]

I love some of these reasons they give.

"1. The characters are all good-looking guys and beautiful girls."

Because no one wants to play as an ugly guy or girl. If an RPG released with ugly characters, unless it was somehow quirky it would bomb.

"3. Opening chests without permission."

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Gotta love Japanese culture. This is actually immoral for them. Remember, they are a country with a national lost and found where, if you don't return someone else's belongings that you found, you can go to jail.

"4. You have a bunch of characters, but only a few of them can participate in the battle."

The person who said this should play Suikoden or Radiata Stories. But it's been too long since we had a game of the same calibre as Suikoden II.

"6. About 1,200 people line up for preorders."

What does that have to do with the actual games?

"8. The protagonist always does the opposite of what I think."

It would be impossible to make a game where the protagonist does what each individual person controlling it would do.

I wonder what the actual translations would say. I really laughed at the opening treasure chests without permission one though.

[Canary]

I usually agree with you on most things, Godmars, but... not this time. I think the real thing that needs to happen is that there needs to be better implementation of excess party members. They shouldn't be silent and do nothing... they should have a role in battle. FFX handled this very well with the swapping system.

Mass Effect is an interesting example (and Dragon Age, too, for that matter) because pretty much EVERYONE really enjoyed the 'flavor text'--that is, the party-member-specific dialog that would appear at certain points in the game. Thing is, since you could never have your WHOLE party in any area, you could NEVER hear all of the flavor text. That... was not cool.

As for the J in JRPGs going away... eh, can't say I care too much about this one. It is a fact, whether people care to admit it or not, that most of the hate for JRPGs--or any Japanese game or media, period--tends to originate mostly--if not solely--with the fact that said media is of Japanese origin. There's been a HUGE backlash in the gaming community against Japanese producers since the advent of the current gaming generation. It's been... well, one of the many reasons why old-timers like me have referred to the past few years as the "dark ages." (Though, yes, things are looking MUCH better in recent months).

The core of the matter is that... it doesn't matter. At all. Whether or not an RPG comes from Japan or not has no effect on its quality. To respectfully paraphrase:

I have a dream that my children will one day live in a world where their games will not be judged by their nation of origin, but by the content of their discs.

[Godmars290]

Need to read my comment more carefully, or I should have just said more.

Got nothing against a large cast of playable characters in a game, but rather when there's several for even a dozen supposedly walking around at the same time, yet only three or four are seen or participate in fights. With the option to change out on the fly an insult on top of the injury to logic.

FF4 handled it best. Had members rotating in and out on narrative dictate with a few exiting dramatically. Then Fainal Fantasy Tactics was next IMO, because you could send excess members on errands and sidequests.

With Mass Effect its just flavoring. Certain characters are present, say things, but its just slightly different than what another would say in their place. There's no true insertion of personality of even skill. Like if you take Thane on Garrus's personal mission where he's out to kill someone. He's just silent, not offering advise.

Mass Effect is a poor example of utilizing excess party members. Perhaps the poorest. It just happens to be popular.

A Youtuber by the name of Sumdboy explained it better, but then in his videos he's talking about a far more diverse RPG when ME is only a TPS w/RPG elements:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[kevnb]

It was handled best in planescape torment.

[jc48573]

so why only 10?

[Jirachi]

Personally i wish more rpgs were turn based if that's too boring for you how about more rpgs being like paper mario turn based but timing still plays a factor.

[Blastoise]

"Hidden things you wouldn't understand unless you read a walkthrough" I agree with that one in particular lol

[MidnytRain]

God, I hate that. This isn't even restricted to RPGs, either. There are tons of games with secrets far too convoluted to uncover without help.

[Biggest]

That is what makes RPGs great. I thought you fools wanted more exploration? Get to it then! Don't cry because someone isn't exploring it for you. Oh wait. You DO cry when they do that as well. Make up your fool minds already! You'll understand the hidden things if you take the time to do all of the exploring that you whine about not having enough of. Either embrace the corridors that spell it out for you, or leave the sob tissues home and explore the vast open areas provided to you.

[Blastoise]

@Biggest
You sound like a reaaaal jackass. Calm down bro

[goldwyncq]

I believe that tv tropes called it guide dang it.

[RurouniKaze]

i just wan a classic fun playable JRPG. One that exceeds the boundries of reality.

[Bimkoblerutso]

Japanese gamers dislike many of the same genre tropes we western gamers dislike, it seems.

[CLOUD1983]

I dont know what Japanese ppl dont like about JRPG but what I dont like is that most of those games r not JRPG anymore, things have change too much the past 10-15 years so much that if u r an old JRPG fan from the 90's u must make a lot of research before u buy a JRPG now in order to be sure that the game u r thinking to buy is indeed a JRPG both in name & design not only in name.

[Baka-akaB]

Just say you want final fantasy or turn based stuff , instead of claiming some titles arent deserving to be called jrpgs .

King's field , Ys and some other have been jrpgs longer than most series not named FF or DQ

It's a just a term of generalisation

[TronEOL]

I'm not sure I understand the point of this article. If it's a joke article, what are they trying to prove? I agree games should never be categorized based on origin. They should all be "RPG"s.

Especially when it's specifically "Japanese RPG's", rather than eRPG's like we're categorized as wRPG's.

If we're playing like that, then Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Neverwinter Nights, and Baldur's Gate should be considered cRPG's. Or Elder Scrolls, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Dungeon Siege, Diablo and such should be usRPG's.

I'm not really sure how that managed to happen.

[Kratoscar2008]

Let me rename the MC, Give me a silent protagonist, lots of choices, a good turn based gameplay and a world map and im happy.

The thing i hate abou jrpgs is that most MC are dull like the Tales of games, MC like the ones from persona and Growlanser are great.

[Der_Kommandant]

Excessive usage of random encounters

[r21]

in radiata stories(PS2) most of the NPCs can join your team :D

[belac09]

those are all my favorite things about the genre

[aDDicteD]

yup, those are classic recipe for a good rpg

[tarbis]

Catering to the west is what I hate. There's no need for it. Since WRPGs do not cater to the east.

[knifefight]

Good to see that this thread wasted no time devolving into yet another story vs. gameplay runaround.

[Flipgeneral]

Love me some jrpg hate!

[Tzuno]

i hate the most that they never learn from the past releases that were gold i mean the 90'

[aDDicteD]

i dont mind about those things listed in the article,

[Summons75]

I hate peoples lack of attention then complain that there is no story or the story made no sense *cough* final fantasy 13 *cough*

[RedDead]

Made sense, it was still *****

Haha no really, I think they actual plot and lore are good, but the other parts of the story aren't particularly:

Characters and Writing, dialogue basically. Baldanders is a disgrace imo

Also I dunno what people are on about with Story being the only thing to look for ain an RPG. Go play Xenogears, wait for disk 2, then imagine if the full game was like that. You'd never touch it.

Gameplay does not just mean combat either btw

[bangoskank]

Gameplay, as well as the story and its characters are deal breakers for me. I've loved and played every Final Fantasy over the past 20 years but didn't even bother with XIII because the trailer exposed horrible dialogue and annoying characters, one of which ran around giggling like an idiot. i want deep characters that I care about like Rydia, Zidane, Celes, and Basche. I'm currently playing Xenoblade. The graphics are far from mindblowing but it does everything else right so far. We need more developers to recognize that this is how a JRPG is supposed to be made.

[PhantomPat]

Bring Back the active and wait system, i don't like the realtime battle, one of the main reason why i hate to much rgp in these days... one of my favorite rpg of all time was Chrono Trigger, it was nearly perfect, but why the never bring back a rpg like... active wait battle, team up with partners... like chrono and emma fire sword magic... a very good story... last mistake... why the protagonist pratiquely never speak... he didn't think ... just like yes or no.

[Bobby Kotex]

JRPGs have some of the worst characters ever. Effenimate men and teens with all sorts of emotional problems. I don't care if you vote me down, but they really need to break out of that mold.

[MaverickStar7]

So most Japanese are not fond of Western style games, and vice versa. JRPG's had their day when they were all the rage. In my life I've seen many different styles of games be the popular style of that day. Fighters, shooters, sports, platformers, racing, rpgs, etc have all had their moment in the sun. So what if JRPG's don't appeal to everyone? No need for them to change if they appeal to the fans of that genre and can still survive.

[IQUITN4G]

Despite their often quirky themes, the Japanese games that released outside there used to be taken very seriously. The truth is they were just better at game crafting for quite some time. Even now with the likes of Bayonetta it's proved that when at their best, we can't match certain aspects of their understanding for gameplay. This was once a time when games were better quite often when made there

Now we have at least caught up in a number of important ways and people on the whole have grown really quite sick of japanese games- because more decent western playing games now do exist that don't also come dressed in quite so much teenage twaddle or sillyness. Japan is rather less significant a factor now which is massively surprising on one hand considering last gen but it was all a matter of time really and i guess that bubble burst. It's perhaps one of the factors for Sony doing less well this gen i would guess

Glad to see Japanese people themselves find certain things irritating about these games too

[FinaLXiii]

I agree that the old formula of making a japanese rpg is getting somewhat tiresome for the most part and that´s exacly the JRPG´s arent not very interesting nowadays because it lacks inovation.

[Kratoscar2008]

8. The protagonist always does the opposite of what I think.

I think this is a valid complain, considering that this genre is called "Role Playing game" the MC is supposed to represent the player and most of the time my MC doesnt act like i would, like what he/she says.

Unlike Persona and Growlanser whose main characters really let me fill the role.